The Story of Jay and Silent Bob
by Kaitlinbell
Summary: Marco came back from summer vacation unable to speak. Alex is one of the few people who still hangs around him. And Jay? Jay just really doesn't have a clue what to feel. Jay and Marco centric. Preslash
1. Mute

Warnings: bad language. This IS Jay. And there will be further bad language and controversial issues later on in the story, which I will warn about when they appear.

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No one knew what happened to Marco del Rossi over the summer.

There were rumors of course. Whispers so wild and radical one couldn't hide their disgust at times. Constant bickering over plausible answers and nitpicking over details took the school by storm, even when a real and true conclusion was nowhere in sight.

People continued to guess and wonder though.

Everyone knew that Marco was living with his grandmother now. Or they nudged each in history class to speculate over his new style of dress, pointing at his baggy, dark clothes and longer hair as if he was a new species altogether.

And, of course, they noticed that Marco didn't speak anymore.

The once sweet, soft-spoken boy now never uttered a word. His vague shoulder movements and subdued charades were his only form of communication...and they were a rare occurence at best.

If anyone noticed that Marco shied away from being touched no one mentioned it. And if anyone felt the need to comment on it they never did.

After a week of coaxing the new Marco many people sighed in admitted defeat and left the other boy to his deserted corner of the lunchroom where he stared out through his curtain of hair in childish fascination.

People change after all. Ellie opened up more after she told her mom about the cutting, Spinner became assuming and arrogant after his first taste of power, and Craig had come to respect people after seeing them wronged.

So if anyone ever questioned why Marco was mute, they followed his lead....

....and never said a word.

Except for the one person in the entire school who had never learned to shut his mouth even when it would probably be prudent to do so.

"Hey queer. Homochuck got your tongue?"

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The gay kid was mute.

Yeah, Jay had noticed. Or rather, he _hadn't_ noticed. Alex had told him a week into school that she was taking the class president gig because Marco had backed out. In her words "Silent Bob could never hold up an office."

That was when he started questioning people. Getting the dirt. Marco had come back from his summer vacation in black clothes and a green jacket that was so big it looked like it would swallow him. His hair reached his shoulders and fell in his face. Jay thought in the beginning it just fell like that naturally, but after watching him for awhile you could tell he raked his fingers through it and forced it to stay firmly planted in front of his eyes.

And at about that time Jay had to stop himself and ask just why in the hell was he watching the queer anyway?

The gay kid was mute.

And Jay was busy trying to figure out why he_ cared_.

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"Caro, could you help me set the table? Papa will be home in a few minutes."

Marco uncurled himself from the knot of limbs he had been on the couch and grabbed the plates off the counter, shuffling around the kitchen with his meek, quick steps. His nana watched on in motherly concern. She was thoroughly overjoyed to have her dear little grandson living with her, even if the circumstances were less than favorable.

But, even if she never would admit it out loud, Marco scared her.

You hear often that when people lose one of their senses their others proliferate to compensate for the loss. When someone loses their eyesight their smell and hearing go up about twenty notches. When someone loses their hearing their eyesight and their comprehension soar.

Marco had lost his ability to speak. He could hear things better than anyone she had ever known...but with this he'd grown into quite an odd creature. He was twitchy and paranoid in his movements. His eyes darted around like a butterfly unable to land, always on constant, watchful alert. His hands always shook with pent up energy that had no place to go. She even wondered occasionally if he was maybe a bit touched in the head...but that was only because his eyes seemed brighter now, like they could look through your soul. Leave you bare and open for anyone to see your darkest secrets. It was undeniably creepy.

Over dinner Nana and her husband made small talk, asking about each other's days and falling into their nice routine. They would both throw the occasional glance at the dark boy coiled up in his chair poking at his food like it held answers to all the world's problems.

"How was school today?" Papa finally asked Marco once they were done with dinner and sipping at coffee, enjoying the lull.

The small boy almost seemed to flinch at his words, curling into himself just that little bit more before he looked up through his black hair and smiled his strange little smile. **It was fine. Quiet**, he signed with his hands.

After the...incident...the entire household had gone to learn sign language knowing there would be no other way to communicate seeing as how Marco was horrible at miming actions and getting his point across without words. They weren't stellar at it just yet but they were learning quickly enough and could hold short conversations.

Nana smiled warmly and signed back. **I'm glad. Why don't you take your medicine and go to bed?**

Marco nodded and got up, walked over to the counter and started pulling several plastic bottles from the cabinet while the older couple continued their quiet conversation at the table. They didn't stop talking until the almost ghostlike childlike had taken the pills and left the room, the soft sound of feet plodding up the stairs wafting down to them.

The greying woman turned around, away from the echoing noise of the footsteps. "He scares me sometimes. I feel bad. I know he can't help it, but...." Mr. del Rossi senior leaned forward and took his wife's hand in his.

"Just keep in mind just who he is and it's easier. It's Marco, your dear grandson, the same little kid you had to yell at for eating mud pies in the backyard when he was little. The same boy who's picture is on the fridge. Just look deeper next time he looks at you and it'll be easier."

"You're right. You always are. I guess I just don't like the quiet."

The man smiled mournfully and looked at the kitchen doorway that their ward had walked through seconds earlier.

"I don't like the silence either."

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A tendril of smoke drifted in front ofmy face obscuring everyone that walked by. This is howI liked the world. A screen. A way to hide from them and them to hide from me. However the wall only lasts for a moments time before it disappears.

Nodding a greeting at Sean when he walked by Jay blew the remaining smoke out of his lungs and stubbed out his cigarette in the grass. God how he hated being here. Another year of hell. His senior year. How wonderful his life was.

I meanhe really fucking hated it. He never really liked to stop and consider it too often. He didn't like to admit it might be because he wouldn't like what he found. No, he just liked to tell himself it was because it was too crappy to even look at for too long. He had a shit job. He had a shit education. Hell, he even had a shit relationship at the moment.

Ever since he and Alex had broken up over the summer Jay had been trying to find someone who could match his one and only love. He had failed so far. No one ever matched up and he didn't think anyone ever could. He was still best friends with Alex, of course, as they had been since their freshman year.

He had met Alex five, no wait, six... he'd been held back twice. Anyway, he had met Alex six years ago in homeroom and he had instantly liked her. Of course she had kicked a sophmore named Tom's shins for asking why she looked like a boy. Needless to say she was a girl after his own heart, and he had fallen for her a year later.

Butmy own demonsbegan to callproblems. Alex had gotten to know a boy last year, our repeat of eleventh. His name had been Marco and she had been running against him for office. He was gay, and so I of course gave him shit over it. I never really had a problem with it, I just wanted my girl to win. What got me was that in the end...she never outted him. She instead stepped down and took the vice president position he offered.

I'd never known Alex to back out before, or to be nice to someone who was the enemy. But she had. And over that school year she had gotten closer to the girly boy and befriended him by the end of the year. From what I know she still calls him occasionally to catch up which is just so weird for Alex.

The reason she broke up with me? I just couldn't grow up. Yeah. Shocking isn't it? One day, after I had called him a fag for the one hundredth time (could you believe she had been counting?) she lashed out at me and told me to quit being a child, and she had hoped I could grow some maturity but it appeared I couldn't.

So she let me go, promising she would never stop being my friend no matter what. And that was enough for me at the time.

But now I'm lonely. I haven't had someone to talk to in a romantic way for a few monthes now and it's unnerving. Plus seeing her spending so much time with that queer is really driving me crazy. I think she might even have a crush on him. It hurts to seem them together. I know they don't agree on a lot of things and when they're together they've always got pained expressions on their faces, but I know that while they don't exactly go together like peas and carrots, they had a connection and an understanding flowing between them that everyone else was missing out on.

Even now, when Marco doesn't talk anymore....they seem to be closer than ever.

To the shock of everyone, Marco dropped out of office, and since the two of them really had no reason to acknowledge each other anymore, it was quite the shock to see that they still stayed together even after all of that.

Alex soon began letting Marco teach her to sign and they wrote to each other frequently. Since Alex was never the most talkativeof peoplethey got along famously, still disagreeing often and nitpicking on things that really didn't matter, but they obviously agreed on the importantshit and that held them together.

And I, in typical ex-boyfriend fashion, am fuckingjealous.

I've finally figured out how I can keep Alex though. I've got to put up with Jailbait and tough out their strange signed conversations. I get to spend time with Alex, and she gets to spend time with her former political associate turned best friend.

The gay kid was mute.

And my former girlfriend loved him to death.

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Herm. Don't ask me about this. I dunno where it's going. Review though! lol


	2. Dreams and Smiles

I am so sorry for the errors on the last chapter. The new document manager on the site does that when you fix errors on it. It's crazy. So I'm now not fixing anything on there. lol. So hopefully this one will be more reader friendly. Stupid thing.

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. I really had no idea where this story was going and just wrote it because it was a great start...but I've sat down and worked out a plot and I can't wait to try and work it out. So thank you for the boost you guys. It helped a lot.

Warning: Again, quite a lot of language and homophobic name calling. Erm, that's it I'm pretty sure.

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"Marco, look."

With a little jump Marco looked up from a display of herbal teas by the door to spot Dylan hovering near the counter. The coffee shop they both frequented together was small and quiet, dimly lit with soft jazz music dancing through the air and inbetween the eccentric customers dotting the room talking to their friends, poring over college course notes, or reading paperback novels with odd covers. It was like all the other coffee shops really. Mellow, cozy, and a place to simply unwind.

Marco shook his head good-naturedly and walked over to Dylan with a smile on his face. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

The blond boy rolled his eyes theatrically and pointed to a sign behind the counter. _Help Wanted._ "They're hiring. You've been looking for a job right? And you love this place. You should apply don't you think?"

The Italian boy's grin grew wider as he snatched an application off the counter and looked it over. Glancing up at Dylan he nodded his head at an empty table in invitation before shuffling over and taking a seat. "Okay. Fine. You're right as usual. Help me out though. I don't want to sound like the idiot teenager that I really am."

Dylan stared at him as if he'd gone insane and his eyebrows disappeared beneath his golden hair. "Who exactly are we talking about here? Not the same Marco who could probably pass my college courses with his eyes closed...and make a far better grade no less? This Marco is asking me to help him get a job? I've said it before and I'll say it again. You ...are ...freaking ..._weird_."

Marco glared for a moment before reaching forward and yanking the older boy's hair hard, bringing his face up close to his own. "Dylan, your mouth could outrun sound one day. I'd take care of that if I were you." With a harsh tug, the shorter boy sat back once again to stare at him.

Instantaneously the two boys fell into a fit of laughter. Several minutes passed by where Dylan and Marco could barely breathe, but eventually their howls died down. A sparse giggle bubbled up ocassionally but Marco had once again consumed himself into his application form and Dylan was absent-mindedly bobbing his head to a heavy metal song only he could hear. Marco looked up and smiled fondly at the blonde.

Ever since his election during the school year he and Dylan had never gotten back together. Oh sure, he knew they both wanted to. Dylan looked at him the same thoughtful way he used to, and he danced around the bush constantly. Marco simply assumed Dylan wasn't entirely sure of his footing in this situation... so he hesitated.

Not for lack of trying of course. There were accidental kisses on New Year's Eve and those too long touches when they were working on homework together. Yes, it was quite obvious they'd get back together one day... but Marco was getting so tired of sitting around waiting for the words and putting up with those passionate staring matches and coy smiles. It was unnerving and frustrating. It was always two steps forward...only to be followed with_ two _steps back. Absolutely no headway or end in sight. Just like those old cartoons when the cat chases after the mouse but the sliding carpet on the floor leaves him running in place.

A clearing throat caused Marco to startle slightly and made the cloud of nostalgia fogging his brain disappate. Dylan smiled warmly at him across the table and tapped the watch on his wrist meaningfully. "We'd better be going. It's getting late."

Shrugging into their jackets and "accidentally" elbowing each other the entire time, Marco watched as Dylan tensed beside him abruptly and stared over his shoulder with an oddly curious expression on his face. In a moment's time Dylan's eyes widened in recognition at the air behind his head and placing a protective hand on his shoulder.

"Zacharias," he said, nodding slowly as if waiting for someone to yell _April Fools_. "It's been awhile."

Marco's eyebrows drew together in confusion and at the sound of another voice he turned to face the speaker. He almost gasped aloud upon seeing the stranger however. He had to be Dylan's age and very tall and lean. Built like a dancer, his brain threw in abstractedly. His hair was chesnut brown and long, tied back at the base of his neck in a way that could only be described as elegant. A pair of strangely pale green eyes stared out of a thin, handsome face, and a golden earring dangled from one ear. The boy was...._stunning._

"Yes, it has," the boy known as Zacharias replied in a suave manner. "Long time no see, yes? You haven't changed a bit have you? Still seventy feet taller than me and the rest of the male population and still built for sin. What's your secret?"

Marco smiled at the brunette boy. He couldn't describe it. The boy's confident demeanor, steady gaze, even the fairly disliked snotty voice all made him weak in the knees. Smiling widely Marco reached over to nudge the very uncomfortable looking Dylan. "He's just very lucky. Congratulations on making him blush though. I've never been completely successful."

As the last word fell from his lips all of the new boy's attention immediately changed course and fell over him. Zacharias' smile turned distinctively devilish and one eyebrow rose up in interest and amusement. The spotlight was beyond distracting, Marco thought.

"Ah, and who is your friend Dylan? I swear you always did keep the good secrets to yourself."  
Marco shuffled self-consciously as the other boy stared a hole through him, and willed the color rising up his neck to stay away from his face. Dear God, please don't let me embarrass myself today of all days.

"Oh, uh, Zach, this is Marco. Marco, Zacharias Bailey. He's an old friend from high school."

As if in slow motion, Marco watched the lithe boy reach forward, smoothly take his hand in his and place a soft almost nonexistent kiss atop it. Marco closed his eyes tightly and held his breath, hoping with everything he had that his shiver hadn't been too apparent even as he lost the battle against his blush. Man this was _mortifying_.

"The pleasure is all mine I'm sure. But please, call me Leo. Zacharias has far too many syllables for casual conversation, don't you think?" Marco only smiled stupidly and rubbed at his hand, too far gone in the beginnings of a crush to take in much of his surroundings. He vever noticed the now dubbed Leo's smile growing wider as if he was planning something.

_Leo._

A silent scream sat on Marco's lips as he sat up in bed with great force. Cold sweat trickled down his back and tickled his neck, freezing cold pajamas sticking to his legs. Running a hand through his long hair Marco tried to ignore the shaking in his hands.

It was only a dream. A dream. A really stupid and completely imaginary dream. Breathe. Just breathe. It's over. All over. Relax.

Breathing heavily in and out he slumped uselessly against the headboard, feeling the hard wood cutting into his back. With a martyred sigh that echoed off the walls in the midnight silence, Marco grabbed the sign language book off of his nightstand and flipped on the lamp to sit out another sleepless night.

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They...were in the library.

Jay leaned back more heavily in his chair, balancing on the back two feet precariously. Alex had drug him in here as soon as the school's doors had opened, running like a mad person to the forbidden zone. According to her, it was life or death.

He snorted to himself, throwing his head back and toying with his hat. It rather was life or death. Either leave this hell hole alive and breathe easy or die of boredom in the middle of the encyclopedia section.

Bored. Bored. Heh, there's a fly on the wall. Bored. I wonder if Alex wears black or white underwear. Maybe pink even? Bored. Tap tap tap. Hm, that's kind of fun. Tap tap tap tappity tap.

"Will you quite it Jay!" snarled the girl across from him. Jay looked up and took in her peeved expression and could almost hear the nails scraping against the chalkboard in her mind. He thumped his hand one more time on the tabletop in sullen surrender and glared right back at her, reprimanding the voice in his head that was trying to laugh at the way her nostrils were flaring.

"Tell me again, why are writing this?"

Alex's eyes slit dangerously and the pencil in her hand looked about ready to snap in half. She leaned herself over the table so her volatile eyes were level with his. "_We _aren't doing anything. _I_ am writing an essay because failing twice was enough for me. _You _want to spend another year staring at the same walls then by all means, continue tapping Buck 65 on the table until I gouge your eyes out with my pencil. Otherwise, shut the fuck up and grab a book!"

After huffing agitatedly to prove her point she threw herself back in her chair and once again busied herself with the book, angrily flipping through the pages without purpose. Jay placed his elbows on the table and hunched over, smiling.

Man he loved her.

The library doors squeaking open at this ungodly hour brought both of the room's occupants out of their inner musings. A few moment later after several quick but quiet footsteps a downright tiny, dark figure rounded the bookshelf into their little secluded niche.

Enter object of jealousy.

Alex brightened considerably, though it wasn't very obvious, and Jay could tell, that for the moment atleast, he had ceased to exist. "Marco, help me out. I don't care what anyone says, Shakespeare's got a stick up his ass and no one can understand a word he says."

The short boy scowled at her and plopped down beside her, grabbing a small memo notepad from a pocket in his ghastily overlarge pants. Flipping to a blank page he started writing to her on it, occasionally communicating a word with his hands instead of on the paper.

Jay only stared at them enviously for a brief period of time before he tuned them out and began his tapping again in hopes that it would tick Alex off, if only to gain her attention for a minute or two. Man, he really did act like a two year old. Hmph. What did the little midget think he was doing here at this hour anyway? Surely he didn't come to school this early everyday. Either that or he was every bit of the freak Jay thought he was.

Meanwhile however, instead of contemplating the mute boy's habits, Alex was entirely too engrossed in writing her essay to even acknowledge the tapping. Dotting a period after a sentence she immediately swapped over to the notepad.

_And what was the chick fairy's name?_

Alex looked up into Marco's partially obscured eyes impatiently. The boy answered signing each letter of the name out. **T-I-T-A-N-I-A** Alex was still learning so he tried to use the sign language as much as possible around her. At the oddest of times to catch her off gaurd and makes sure she was getting it all. Luckily though, Alex had turned out to be an extraordinarily fast learner, proving she only did so badly in school because she probably didn't care.

**Thanks,** she signed back, hurriedly bending back down over the table to scratch out a couple more lines.

Marco nodded and then turned to look over at their silent companion, glancing him over. He got the feeling Jay didn't like him much. Which of course was nothing new. Nothing new at all. It's just, he had hoped, for the sake of his best friend, that the older boy would atleast be civil to him, rather than this cold shoulder. But then again, he supposed that was a little too much to ask. What would could they do? Make small talk? Sighing, he turned to Alex and signed to her.

**It seems someone else has a stick up their ass. What is his problem?**

The girl looked up from her homework and stared at Jay thoughtfully, taking in his tense posture and agitated, incessant tapping. She stared for so long even that she had to shake her head to break the trance she had fallen into.

Recovering, she slowly turned back to Marco. Half signing and half writing a couple of words she didn't know yet on the paper, she answered.

**He doesn't like change I think.**

After a moment of processing Marco nodded back soberly, reaching up and raking his long, fine hair over his forehead pensively. Looking up through his self-imposed curtain he smiled a grim little smile.

**No one ever does.**

Jay watched the entire exchange between the two irritably. It was beyond obvious they were conversing about something that had nothing to do with Sir Confuses A lot. At about that moment Marco looked up from his quiet conversation and caught eyes with him through his veil of hair.

Marco smiled.

As if from an electric shock Jay jumped, feeling a heart pounding jolt tear through his body. He'd never been so surprised in his life. An actual smile. Shit.

In the blink of an eye the sweet smile was gone and Marco was once again huddled over Alex's essay pointing out misspelled words and scribbling away in his little notebook.

Jesus. That had scared him out of his mind. However, a little voice in the back of his mind threw out a random thought.

The queer looked _normal_ when he smiled. As in a normal human being not a creature from Mars. The shadow almost disappeared from his eyes and he didn't look quite so small and vulnerable. Even his dark clothes looked a bit brighter. Almost pleasant, like he had a personality after all. As if....

What the fuck? Stop right there! Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars. Was he _actually _just contemplating the change a smile made on the fag's face? I mean...was he _really_?

Well....damn.

The gay kid was mute...and Jay wanted to see him smile?

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Review! Please! They help beyond imagination.


	3. Alex vs Paige

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. They helped out a lot, especially knowing what everyone else was wondering about the plot and Marco in general. Seeing as how the line of events is still very vague all the comments are very helpful.

I'm also (very slowly mind you) teaching myself sign language. So maybe, we'll see if that helps any.

Warnings: Still...language. Lot's of it. Not your cup of tea then I suggest the back button.

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His eyes hurt. Not burning or pounding or anything of the sort, just a very insistant itching caused by staring for too long without blinking at such an early hour. Not painful in the slightest but irritating nonetheless.

Marco sighed, tearing his gaze away from the page, balling his hands into loose fists and digging the heels into his eyes, bright fireworks of pink and silver exploding in the pulsing darkness. Removing his hands, it took a few seconds before the splotches of color disappeared enough for him to see properly again.

It was much too early for a teenager to be awake. Even more odd for a teenager to be in the library out of his own free will. But here he was.

Alex made a point to come and keep him company a couple of days out of the week, but she was, of course, a normal human being and slept until her alarm went off usually, so he tried not to rely on her too much. Tried not to rely on anyone really, but that was a different matter altogether.

Sighing for what felt like the millionth time that morning Marco pushed back his chair, wincing at how loud the legs scraping against the floor were in the quiet library, and stood, stretching out the cricks in his neck and back. He checked out the book he had been reading, too tired to even smile politely at the nice librarian lady before he shuffled off outside to sit on the front steps.

He liked being outdoors as a general rule. It felt cleaner, more real and tangible when you can actually _feel_ the air moving, sliding through your hair and caressing your cheeks. One of the few touches he could bear to sit through anymore.

It was a grey dawn, all steel mist and pewter light, the faint vestige of pink from the rising sun shining through yellow leaves and climbing across the barren parking lot towards his toes like a flush of exhilaration making its way up your neck.

Scarily bright headlights flashed his eyes from time to time out of the grey as cars started pouring in at an unhurried pace, bringing with them the grating sounds of voices ruining the ghostlike world he had found solace in for the precious few minutes before their arrival.

Funny, it was the loudest and most annoying noise of them all that he was waiting here on the cold steps for. And it arrived soon enough.

From a block away a rhythmic thumping came, traveling like a heartbeat through the early October cold and attacking Marco's overly proliferated ears, making him clench his teeth painfully at the onslaught. Alex was here it seemed.

**Morning, **he sighed as the heavy beat cut off and the gaunt girl climbed out of the orange sports car, closing the door with a loud click. Alex smiled, well, smirked really, and signed a greeting back as she walked up, only waiting up for a dozy looking Jay with half a mind.

The trio made their way into the building, Jay trudging behind the pair signing to each other enthusiastically. It was too early to even be _speaking_ let alone trying to remember all those damn hand movements, he thought. They were aliens. They had to be. No other life forms could possibly be that energetic at this hour. Atleast Alex's bored expression she always wore made her look a little bit less awake. That made him feel a bit better.

Jay stopped momentarily to get a drink of water from the fountain, cupping a small amount in his hand to splash on his face, rubbing at his forehead vigorously to uncloud his head. Straightening back up and being careful to catch any lingering drops off of his jawline before they landed on his collar, Jay looked up and watched the two of them as they continued down the hall.

They looked so...at ease, ungaurded and unwary. So _different_ from the way they used to interact. Yeah, they sniped and carried on like an old married couple, but somehow they still _respected_ each other in the end. Oh sure, he tried to ignore the way she actually paid _attention _to the queer. Close to the way she used to look at him after he ran a hand down her neck. Probably the expression of hers that he missed the most.

He watched as, after particularly agressive series of signs from the freak, Alex tipped her head back and laughed. Really _laughed_. Something he had only seen her do once before...which wasn't all that much of a comparison considering she had been drunk at the time.

It was almost as if time had slowed down, the ever dropping sands in the hourglass turning thick and liquid at the wave of a hand. Alex smiling genuinely for what felt like the first time, reaching up to place a hand on the midget's shoulder. His gaze moved, out of curiousity, he told himself, nothing more, to look at the Italian boy at her side. He was _smiling _again, like the day in the library, and the same odd, creepy feeling sank into his stomach.

Maybe he had been wrong. The queer definitely didn't look _normal._ He looked...eerie for lack of a better word. Like a vampire. So many things wrong with him, not too long teeth or pale skin. No, it was the eyes, too dark to be real, like a gem made of midnight. The way his hands moved...like an insect with broken wings. It was all so creepy....but _mesmerizing._

All of the sudden, time sped up drastically, taking with it the emotional clarity. Stole away the confusion.

Jay coughed and averted his eyes, trudging wearily to his first class and pointedly _did not _look at the two lovebirds. He rather thought he had seen enough mushy gazes for one morning. He didn't feel like he could stomach any more today. Didn't think he could take another smile.

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Pale green eyes took in the colored chaos of the lunchroom in cool awareness. Namely, a dark figure in the corner hunched over a disgustingly thick book held most of her attention.

Paige felt her eyebrows draw together as she appraised the boy. It had been so long since she had spoken to him. Not that he could exactly talk back mind you, but she hadn't heard from him all summer. Granted, she had plenty of reason. After Dylan's injury hardly anyone had seen hide nor hair of her at all since she had been at the hospital for the first two weeks.

According to her mother, Dylan had had a hockey accident while practicing with a teammate one weekend that July. She visited him often, but he stayed as silent as Marco was now. Comas could do that to you she found out. Paige knew the rumors going around about her dark haired friend were all false. She alone knew the reason he didn't speak.

Marco was mute because Dylan got hurt.

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"Please tell me you are not reading an..._encyclopedia._"

Marco looked up with a movement that could have rivalled lightning, and his expression change, from contentedness to blatant insecurity, seemed even quicker. As if trying to hide from the blonde girl even though she stood directly in front of him, Marco began to rake his long bangs over his face, again and again, clawing at his forehead until Paige feared he might start bleeding.

Clearing her throat self-conciously Paige took a seat beside him, almost surprised by her feeling that he might bolt if she moved to fast. She tried to smile even as she spotted the pinpricks of tears shining through his curtain of hair, a beacon of forshadowed futility. He looked like a caged tiger, eyes darting everywhere madly, looking for an escape through the bars.

"So, um...Mom has been asking after you for weeks now."

Marco started shaking dangerously, a single tear slipped down, disappearing into his hair as if it had never existed in the first place. He had atleast stopped trying to rearrange his hair, and his hands now lay fisted and white-knuckled on top of the book.

"Erm, they miss you a lot you know. You used to practically live over there after all. You might as well be family."

Paige looked down at his hands, hating herself for her inability to maintain eye contact because she couldn't face the tears. She watched as a presumably dead boring passage on an Indonesian politician slowly turned scarlet. She felt herself gasp sharply.

"Marco. Please..." she pleaded. "Please..._stop_. You're bleeding."

His fists unclenched with great force, floating an inch or so above the large volume in a tensed hold, like a poised claw, and shaking with great intensity. There was blood underneath his fingernails.

"Marco, hun. Please...tell me what's wrong." She felt tears of her own springing up out of nowhere, she wasn't even thinking about the fact that he couldn't really answer. "Please...why are you hurting yourself like that?"

Paige moved forward to soothe the quaking out of his hands and finally got close enough where he couldn't scrunch back any further to place a comforting hand on his right forearm.

The sound of a chair crashing to the floor and a blood curdling shriek bounced violently off the lunchroom walls. Hundreds of pairs of eyes jerked up from their meals in time to see a blurred black figure slam through the doors and out of sight, and a thunderstruck Paige staring after him with her mouth open in surprise.

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Jay turned to Alex beside him when he heard the crinkle of paper that signalled that she had dropped her sandwich. He had watched the entire thing, and obviously, so had Alex. One look proved that she was positively _livid_, an expression he was very used to, but even all of his past experience paled in comparison. Her cheeks were bright patches of pink and her eyes were nothing more than black flame.

If that look was any indicator, preppy bitch was about to get her well dressed ass kicked. A second later Jay was proven correct as Alex stood up so quickly her chair fell back on the floor loudly. Before the blonde even knew what was happening, Alex had crossed the room and held a handful of her shining hair knotted in her fist.

"What the hell did you say to him, bitch!?" his friend snarled into the blonde's alarmed face, spit flying. "I swear to God I'll beat you so hard you'll be sleeping in a hospital bed next to your brother! What! Did you say! To Marco!"

Homochuck's sister seemd to recover just a little bit, too offended to notice how one-sided the situation was. "Don't you _dare _talk about Dylan, welfare! You don't know anything, and Marco is just as much one of my friends as he is yours! Now let me GO!!!"

Jay watched as Alex relunctantly freed the other girl's hair with a final tug, her voice lowering to a harsh whisper. "Friends don't make friends run away fucking screaming. Remember that." She smiled, words falling like venom. "Don't come near him again. It's nice hair, I'd rather not have to make you eat it."

Paige stood up from where she had toppled down in her chair. "You have _no_ right..." but what she had no right of, the crowd of onlookers never found out, as Alex abruptly turned on her heel and spit in her shocked face.

"That is where you're wrong. _You _are the one with no right," she hissed before storming off, leaving the other girl to wipe at her face and hide her wet eyes.

Jay smirked. Alex 1, Paige 0.

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It took Marco a full hour to regain some semblance of control over his anxiety. He sat on the bathroom floor revelling in the cold tiles at his back. He kept his left hand firmly over his arm in an almost vice-like grip. He could still feel Paige's fingers there, burning him.

It's just...Paige. Paige was just blindly talking about family, implying Dylan with her eyes. And...and she _touched_ him, and....

Marco shook his head, knowing that thinking about it wasn't going to change the way things were and pried himself off the ground to splash some water on his face in an effort to hide his red rimmed eyes. He was drying his hands when the bell signalling eighth period jangled him out of his thoughts and reinforced his resolve, helping him to shuffle off to class.

Sitting in calculus and all but seeing through the complex equations on the board Marco could feel his mind wandering, powerless to detour it in the slightest.

_"Um, hi. I start working here today and I feel a little lost. I was wondering if you could maybe...I dunno, push me in the right direction?"_

_The red haired boy behind the counter smiled and showed Marco how to work the register, where he stayed for the rest of the day. It was a stroke of luck that he had managed to bag this job at Florence's. He did, after all, need the money, and soon enough he had learned the ropes. Register in the morning and refill coffees in the afternoon. Easy._

_If he was completely honest with himself, his new job was a bit dull. The most exciting thing he ever encountered were the strange characters that frequented the place. However, three days in, he received a surprise._

_"Marco, right?"_

_Jumping as if from an electric shock (and almost spilling the pot of coffee he was carrying) he whirled around to see who had recognized him so easily. What he found made a smile plaster itself onto his face and caused his heart to sputter momentarily. "Uh, Zacharias?"_

_The brunette grinned brightly and extended his hand, much like the day Marco had first met him. "Leo," he corrected, winking at the Italian boy. "So you work here now? Lucky me, I suppose I get to see you more often."_

_Red is such a horrid color, Marco thought distractedly, feeling a tidal wave of heat rise up his neck to stain his cheeks. "Uh, er...really?"_

_Shaking his head to clear it, Marco palmed his forehead. "Oh, sorry, would you like anything? My shift ends in about ten minutes, but I'd be glad to grab you something."_

_Leo brushed a few strands of his hair that had fallen out of his ponytail behind his ear and shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks though." He paused, as if thinking of something. "Do you mind if I wait for you? I'd like to take you out for coffee." Leo glanced at the pot in Marco's hand and laughed. "Okay, not coffee. I'm sure you've seen enough of it. Pizza?"_

_Marco could only smile stupidly like a three year old eyeing the jar of cookies on the top shelf. "Pizza sounds...great."_

_As predicted, the dark haired boy's shift ended ten minutes later and after a short drive he found himself in a dimly lit and smoky pizzeria across from a **very** attractive boy._

_"Well, I work in my grandfather's bookshop for money. But...I paint murals on my own time. I'd like to think one day I could get a sponsor, but at the moment I'm just another starving artist."_

_Marco found, throughout their impromptu eating session, that Leo was **fascinating**. He sat through the conversation completely focused on the older boy, the rise and fall of his words, the rumble of his laugh. Everything was just sucking him in._

_"Anyway, enough about my sad career goals. I had actually wanted to ask you a question."_

_Marco cocked his head to the side, an action he only vaguely remembered using on Dylan on their first date to get him to elaborate on the killer whale statement._

_"I was wondering if you would do me...the honor...of going out with me this Saturday?"_

_Marco ducked his head in embarrassment, blushing horribly....and nodded._

The bell ringing returned Marco's mind to his body with a nauseating jolt and made him jump. Students were filing out of the classroom on all sides and the teacher had his back to him, erasing the board.

Breathing out unsteadily, feeling the burning of tears stinging his nose, the Italian boy dropped his head down into his shaking hands.

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Jay stood beside Alex and squashed the urge to bang his head against the wall in agitation. They were outside the calculus room waiting for, you guessed it, the freak. Jesus, when would it all end? First the smiles, then the lunch fiasco, and now standing out in the hallway like faithful lapdogs. It was like the craziest, most cliched nightmare of a soap opera he had ever dreamed possible.

Letting his head fall forward against the door harshly Jay looked through the tiny window in the door now level with his eyes, and saw the creep's frail shoulders hunched over and spindly fingers buried in his scraggly hair. He was so..._ugly. _And yet....that made the feeling of hidden beauty all the more powerful. It was that same odd feeling grabbing his heart and squeezing like it did with every sad smile he had ever seen from this boy. Alex was already brushing past him to grab her new little pet, but he could do nothing more than stare, transfixed, at the fragile, almost childlike figure before him.

The gay kid was mute....and all of the sudden Jay really wanted to know _why._

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Review! Please! Give in to my peer pressure! Feel the kindergarten playground nostalgia! Muah.


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